Following a year filled with disruptions to classroom study and remote learning, employees of The E.W. Scripps Company (NASDAQ: SSP) and the communities where it does business are teaming up to ensure kids in low-income households have access to books.
The annual “If You Give a Child a Book …” childhood literacy campaign is a partnership of the Scripps Howard Foundation, members of the Scripps family, employees of The E.W. Scripps Company and the communities it serves. The campaign has distributed more than 500,000 books since its launch in 2016.
Scripps TV stations and national television networks will again partner with Title I schools and nonprofit organizations in their communities to provide books to children who need them most. Books are purchased at a discount through a partnership with Scholastic Book Fairs, further maximizing the purchasing power of every donated dollar. The Foundation’s goal is to ensure that every partner Title I school receives 10 new books per student each year, the identified number of books experts say a child needs to improve their reading skills. Books will be distributed to students in early 2022.
For the second year, Scripps invites its audiences across the country to support the cause. Fundraising campaigns kick off today across Scripps’ local TV stations and the national Scripps Networks.
“At a time when the COVID-19 pandemic has further exposed the literacy gap for children in our most economically challenged neighborhoods, giving them the books they need to succeed is now more urgent than ever,” said Liz Carter, president and CEO of the Scripps Howard Foundation. “Research shows more than 60% of low-income households do not have a single book for their children, so the books we give may be the only ones these children have.”
The “If You Give a Child a Book …” fundraising campaign runs through Sept. 10. Learn more and donate at ifyougiveabook.com.
Schools and nonprofits benefiting from the 2021 campaign include:
About the Scripps Howard Foundation
The Scripps Howard Foundation supports philanthropic causes important to The E.W. Scripps Company (NASDAQ: SSP) and the communities it serves, with a special emphasis on journalism education, excellence in journalism and childhood literacy. At the crossroads of the classroom and the newsroom, the Foundation is a leader in supporting journalism education, scholarships, internships, minority recruitment and development and First Amendment causes. The Scripps Howard Awards stand as one of the industry’s top honors for outstanding journalism and the Foundation’s annual “If You Give a Child a Book …” childhood literacy campaign has distributed more than 500,000 new books to children in need across the nation since 2016. In support of its mission to create a better-informed world, the Foundation also partners with Scripps brands to create awareness of local issues and support impactful organizations to drive solutions that help build thriving communities.
About Scripps
The E.W. Scripps Company (NASDAQ: SSP) is a diversified media company focused on creating a better-informed world. As the nation’s fourth-largest local TV broadcaster, Scripps serves communities with quality, objective local journalism and operates a portfolio of 61 stations in 41 markets. The Scripps Networks reach nearly every American through the national news outlets Court TV and Newsy and popular entertainment brands ION, Bounce, Grit, Laff, Court TV Mystery, Defy TV and TrueReal. Scripps is the nation’s largest holder of broadcast spectrum. Scripps runs an award-winning investigative reporting newsroom in Washington, D.C., and is the longtime steward of the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Founded in 1878, Scripps has held for decades to the motto, “Give light and the people will find their own way.”
Media contact: Michael Perry, The E.W. Scripps Company, 513-259-4718, [email protected]